Sour Cream and Pumpkin Muffins

Muffins of all kinds are the easiest of baked treats to make. Since I know how to make a cake mix at home, muffins are the kind of breakfast that I prepare often. The pumpkin muffin is one of my favorite muffins for breakfast. Use either store-bought pumpkin in the can or homemade pumpkin purée made in a Crock Pot to make these muffins because this type of muffin is very tolerant either way and will still taste great. Here it is!

Ingredients:
2 cups of cake mix*
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil, melted and then cooled butter, or vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup skim milk or whole milk
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin purée or pumpkin pie filling in a can
1/2 cup raisin
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°.  Line a 12 medium-size muffin tin with paper muffin tin liners and set aside.

Place white sugar in a food processor and grind to very fine.

Combine cake mix, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisins and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sour cream, sugar, and oil.

Use a handheld electric mixer to beat mixture until combined. Add pumpkin purée and vanilla. Beat well.

Add cake mix mixture and beat a few times. It is okay to see a few trails of flour, but do not overmix the flour.

 Scoop the batter 2/3 full into the muffin liners. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

* If you do not have cake mix available, you can combine 2 cups all-purpose flour with 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1/8 tsp salt.

Crock Pot Quinoa with Vegetables

Here is an easy, healthy recipe can be served by itself or as a side dish for grilled fish, baked chicken, or pork. Last weekend, my friend and I had lunch at a cute restaurant on the beach of Winslow. One of the dishes that we ordered gave me an idea on how to prepare this recipe at home. I know that sometimes I should just enjoy eating out, but the cook inside of me always jumps out and tries to analyze the ingredients. Quinoa is one of the healthy grains appearing on most restaurant menus as a main dish or appetizer. I add other vegetables into this dish to make it as a main meal for vegans. The Crock Pot plays a big part in the creation of this recipe.
 
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 cup butter squash, peeled and cubed
1 cup beats, peeled and cubed
1 cup daikon, peeled and cubed
1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 cup zucchini, peeled and cubed
1 cup button mushrooms, quartered
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup red onions, sliced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup freshly chopped basil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp vegetable seasoning
 

Directions: 
Grease the interior of a Crock Pot with coconut oil.
Place all the ingredients into the Crock Pot, except the quinoa. You can put layer after layer of the hard vegetables at the bottom, and the mushrooms will be on the top. Add broth. Cover and turn on low for 3 hours.

In the last hour of cooking time, add the quinoa and turn to high. 

Make a quick stir to combine. Cover and finish the cooking. Serve as a side dish or with grilled fish or meats.

No-Knead Pumpkin Bread

As the name implies, this recipe is the easiest recipe for making artisan crusty bread with no fuss.  I have been using this method to make beautiful bread to impress my guests each time it is presented.  However, since I have already made pumpkin purée in a Crock Pot as I have described in another recipe, then why not include pumpkin purée into this bread as well. The recipe that I present here today is a simple one for "no-knead bread". All it needs is time for the dough to rise, and 18 hours later, I just add pumpkin purée.  I hope this recipe will be a keeper. Keep in mind that no kneading is required.

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp active dry yeast
1 ½ cups of water

Additional ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup total of chopped walnuts and any kind of seeds of your choice

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, yeast, and water (use a spatula to mix well). Cover with plastic wrap and let dough mixture sit for 15 hours.

  After 15 hours, a bubble will appear (use the spatula to mix it again). Add pumpkin purée, cinnamon, nutmeg, walnuts, and seeds (I use sunflower seeds). Mix well.

 Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Dust parchment paper with a mixture of cornmeal and flour. Pour the risen bread dough onto the prepared parchment paper. Sprinkle on top with a mixture of cornmeal and flour. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 2 hours.
About 30 minutes before the end of 2 hours, set the oven to 450°. Place a cast-iron pot with lid inside the oven and heat the cast-iron pot for 20 minutes.

 Lift the parchment paper and place inside the preheated cast-iron pot.

 Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 15 minutes. Let it cool before slice and serve with butter, jam, etc.…

Easy Pumpkin Bread

Quick and easy are the ways that I like when some days I need to cook without fussing about the recipe. After making a recipe for pumpkin filling in a Crock Pot, the following bread recipe came to me because this kind of quick bread deserves to be recognized. This pumpkin bread is good for breakfast or as a snack. I reduced the amount of sugar and used the natural sweetness of the pumpkin. However, adding more or less sugar or butter in this recipe is the choice of each cook. I will now simply present a fast, and delicious bread recipe.

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flower
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup puréed pumpkin
Pinch of 5 Spice
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tbs butter, cut up

Directions:
Spray and flour a 9” x 5” loaf pan and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, 5 Spice, and both sugars in a mixing bowl and stir well.

Make a well in a center and add oil, apple sauce, pumpkin purée, and eggs. Use a handheld mixer and beat well for 30 seconds.

Stir in walnuts and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Top with the cut butter.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center come out clean. Serve warm or make toast slices the next day.

Hyped

People often sulk for trifle reasons. The sorrow is not in the object itself but because of the way one thinks about it. For example, death itself is not anything because when we die, we still not know what else is next. The thought of dying is just a terrible fear – that’s all! Many people who hear thunder are afraid, but a deaf person hears nothing and is not afraid. An old Sayer declared: "The sun is not available to the blind, nor thunder for the deaf". So, we just need to pretend we are like the deaf, and then we will not be afraid of thunder. So every time we are upset, confused, or suffer, do not blame anyone else, only blame yourself. We are not in charge of our thoughts and are ultimately alone. If everyone knew how to be casual and calm, and consider all things that happen to you, nine-tenths of all of them are unnecessarily bothersome. You should look at all things like looking into a mirror. If you, your reflection laughs back. If you cry, your reflection also cries. If someone hits you, do you become angry? Is it another person who hit you or yourself? If we know that the person who hit us is a madman, then how can we be mad at that person again in the future? Do not humiliate yourself at the one who cursed you, beat you, because it was the thought that humiliated you. There are those who make you angry, but then you must know that you can make yourself angry more. People who want to live in peace often seek to live in peace. Acting in peacefulness makes it is easier to keep your mind calm. However, when one saw that the scene was not calm and thus panicked, they lost their soul. If someone knows that living in often calm but with unknown variables will follow him throughout life, then his world will never get peace. 

Source from Internet

Crock Pot Pumpkin Filling

Autumn is the time to prepare for pumpkin pie, muffins, bread, cheesecake and other dishes. Most of the recipes for baking use ready-made pumpkin filling in a can. It is convenient for baking, but with the Crock Pot, pumpkin filling is very easy to make. Choosing a pumpkin is very much personal choice, and canned pumpkin is not always pure pumpkin. Most of them include some yellow squash or other kinds of pumpkin. If pure pumpkin is your desire, then making pumpkin from scratch is the only way. The method chosen to make pumpkin such as baked, boiled, or steamed is easy. Since I figured out the best way to cook pumpkin in a Crock Pot, I am doing it when each fall season comes with the variety of pumpkins available in the groceries or farm stand markets. The Crock Pot is a special tool that helps to create the pumpkin filling. Fall would not be fall without the smell of all the spices from pumpkin bread, pie, muffins, or the homemade pumpkin filling.

Ingredients:
1 large pumpkin
A sharp knife

Directions:
Peel and scoop out the pumpkin seeds. Reserve the seeds to roast for a tasty snack later. Rough chop the pumpkin.

 Put all the chopped pumpkin in the Crock Pot. Cover and turn to low.

Cook for 2  hours. Use a handheld mixer to mash the pumpkin. It is now ready to use for any recipe that calls for pumpkin filling. Freeze it if not used immediately.

Crock Pot Chicken Stew

I occasionally go to the Goodwill store near my home, and the two items that I often find there in brand new condition are a bread machine and a Crock Pot. Supposedly, when these were given as gifts, the owner often does not know how to use it properly to be beneficial in the kitchen. In my experience with the Crock Pot, it is a very good tool for the kitchen, especially for some recipes that need time but I do not have adequate time available. I have been trying many dishes using this tool, and I am very satisfied with its results. I would love to eat beans more often; therefore, the Crock Pot is a great way to cook dried beans. It is healthier to consume beans instead of buying canned beans. In the next few days, I will have more recipes for cooking beans in a Crock Pot. The correct size of a Crock Pot to use depends on the size of the family.  For me, the 3 to 4 quart size of the Crock Pot can prepare almost any dishes for a family of 4 people. In addition, a Crock Pot is not that expensive too, so get a different size to handle different recipes. Especially for people who have a small kitchen, a Crock Pot is a perfect gadget. I will now introduce a very tasty chicken stew using the Crock Pot. Put all the ingredients in the Crock Pot and forget it. Within a few hours your family will get a very tasty dish.

Ingredients:
Two chicken breasts or thighs, cut into big chunks
2 cups chopped tomatoes(in the blender or food processor)
1 cup red onions
1/3 cup white wine
1 potato, peeled and cut into cubes 
1 cup zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as basil, oregano, and parsley 
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste about 1and 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne 

Coconut oil or vegetable oil to grease the Crock Pot

Directions: 
Grease the interior of a Crock Pot.
Put the onions in the bottom of the pot.

The second ingredient addition is the chicken, the third ingredient addition is the potatoes, and the last ingredient addition is zucchini

In a separate container, combine the rest of the recipe ingredients, except the mushrooms, and stir well. Pour sauce combination into the pot.

Cover and cook on low for 4 hours. In the last 30 minutes of cooking time, add the mushrooms and continue cooking until mushrooms are soft.

Remove bay leaf and serve. This dish can be served with any kind of pasta or by itself